Myroslav Skoryk, Moses (2001)

This is based on a 1905 poem by Ivan Franko, which was meant to be an allegory for Ukraine: the country has great potential marred by political disunity, although I...don't think that's the main problem right now.  Franko, wikipedia tells us, is also "the author of the first detective novels in the Ukrainian language."  Dude, I want to read an early Ukrainian detective novel.

Alas, I don't think any of them have been translated to English.  But here we have an opera based on one of his works!  Which...also hasn't been translated to English, so I don't know what my point is.  Anyway, this is about Moses' tribulations.  As you'd expect, wandering around in the desert.  

You know, I have to admit, I am not super Biblically-literate, so when I saw this in the wikipedia entry about Moses, I raised an eyebrow: "Moses told the Israelites that they were not worthy to inherit the land, and would wander the wilderness for forty years until the generation who had refused to enter Canaan had died, so that it would be their children who would possess the land."  The classic image I feel like is of them wandering around looking for the promised land, but nope, it turns out that Moses was just taking passive-aggressive dickishness to new levels.  Well done, Mo.  But anyway, here--in this opera, and also the Bible--we also have some rebels, Aviron and Datan, and the people are divided.  Moses goes off into the desert and contemplates what he's doing and this and that.  A demon, Azazel, appears and tries to sew doubt.  So does the ghost of his mother, which confused me: since when was she supposed to be an antagonist?  I don't think there's any Biblical basis for that.  Unless she's meant to be another demon?  Unclear.  But anyway, Moses' doubt causes God to punish him by declaring that he'll die without setting foot in the Holy Land.  Boy, turns out they're both pretty darned dickish in this story.  But anyway, he dies, but the people are hopeful about getting where they're going, and Aviron and Datan will be executed, so...huzzah.

Another pretty good opera!  There's a heavy choral element here, and lots of arias--though one does feel, more than in many operas, that being able to follow along with the text would have been useful.  A lot of long monologuing that would be nice to be able to follow!  Oh well.  The music is romantic stuff with strong elements of what I don't know what to call but "Orientalism," an interesting choice for the milieu.  There's a really awesome ballet sequence at the end of the first act where people are worshipping the Golden Calf.

I actually didn't realize some of the emotional resonance that would come from watching Ukrainian operas at a time like this.  You look at the performers and you think, what are they experiencing right now?  Have any of them lost loved ones or been forced to go into exile?  There is no hell hot enough for anyone who initiates or supports a war of choice.  I would like it if this were a universal lesson we could learn, but I am not holding my breath.